Chapter 17: Duty (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=Y_BL_DV5waU)

Memo: lol, I could totally see this happen. I wish I could animate this scene, too. Oh well. Use your imagination! Thanks for reading, y'all!!

*~*~*

Yuffie tossed her giant ninja star toward more Heartless with ease, but she was really getting tired. There had to have been thousands of these mechanical-looking Heartless in the world. She had seen too many, had fought too many.

The impact of her shuriken in her own hand sent her falling to her bum, exhausted. But she had nothing to fear; soon Aerith was at her side, healing her and cheering her on.

Stitch was also in the fray, shooting his alien laser guns at any enemy he could see. He was there to protect himself, and to protect Nexus. Flying past him, Paine darted by, followed by a small horde of Heartless. Though one swatted at her, she knocked it in the head, and with the help of Yuna and Rikku sent it flying off the cliff. The cousins hi-fived, but the party soon died at the sight of more aggressive Heartless headed their way.

Finally, Cloud and Leon were there, standing back to back on a cliffside, swords in hand, surrounded by Heartless.

"Think you can handle this many?" Leon asked the blonde.

"Well..." Cloud began. "Might be tough if one more shows up."

Leon smirked. "Then that'll have to be the one I take care of."

"What, you're fighting too?"

After the sarcastic comment, the two leapt into battle, destroying Heartless in bunches at a time.

.........

Meanwhile, Sora and the others were just arriving in the bailey.

"Leon, everybody--hang in there!" he murmured to himself, though the others were thinking the same thing.

Without saying another word, the four rushed ahead to find their friends, but a sudden blur of black jumped into their path. It was King Mickey, and he held out his arms to the side.

"Okay, fellas, you've gotta go find Riku and Kairi!" he exclaimed, not looking at them.

I hate being referred to as a "fella"... Nexus thought, frowning a little.

"But Leon and the others are friends too!" Sora insisted.

"Don't worry. There's already lotsa help here. We'll take care of this fight."

"But...I promised Leon!"

At this nearly pathetic expression of guilt and loyalty, Donald and Goofy softened, and Nexus wanted to just push on through and ignore the King for once. Just because he was royalty didn't make him perfect, right?

"Donald! Goofy! Nexus!"

Each straightened up at their name.

"Take Sora and get goin'!"

"Riku, Kairi...give me a little time, okay?" Sora half-whispered to himself, bowing his head and closing his eyes.

The other three exchanged worried looks, then Nexus smirked, and the other two nodded, immediately understanding. It was weird to be on the same wavelength as them, Nexus decided.

"Your Majesty!" Donald shouted.

"We understand," Goofy said. "We'll go search for Riku and Kairi!"

"Right. Watch for danger!" the King said, distracted.

"You be careful, too!" Donald quacked.

"Wait, you guys!" Sora cried, desperate. He looked at King Mickey, but the mouse was still scouting the area, his back to the others.

"C'mon, Sora, it's for your own good!" Nexus insisted, smiling goofily.

"You're comin' with us whether ya want to or not!" Goofy added.

"C'mon, Sora! Ya gotta be good!" Donald shouted, and he shot a big wink at Sora. Sora sucked in his breath quickly, catching on.

"Gotcha," he mumbled quietly.

"Well then, skedaddle!" Goofy cried.

"Thank you," Sora mouthed, nodding.

"Let's go!" Donald shouted, and the four took off, running right past the King and into the cliffs below.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty!" Sora shouted back to him.

"Hope you can forgive us!" Goofy said, saluting. The other three followed suit.

"You'll come to thank us eventually!" Nexus called out cheerfully.

The King sighed, smiling.

Nexus' PoV

What felt like only seconds earlier, I was feeling like I could handle anything, especially after meeting Sephiroth. Ah, man, he was scary.

But I was hardly expecting the next fall of events, for when we rounded the corner, Demyx was standing there, back to us.

"Demyx!" I cried, running forward. He jumped, turned around, then grinned at me.

"Nexus!" he exclaimed, then tensed up when he saw the others behind me. I pouted. "Hey, you guys are looking lively," he told them.

"Scram!" Donald snapped. I wanted to kick him.

"Didn't we catch you messing around in the Underworld?" Sora asked. "How'd a wimp like you get into Organization XIII?"

Demyx cowered; I slapped a hand to my forehead in frustration. Thank you for proving their point...

"I bet you can't even fight," Sora taunted, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but we can!" Donald shouted.

"What are you guys DOING?!" I screamed. They were totally picking a fight with this dude, a guy who had actually been NICE to us!

"You shouldn't judge anyone by appearance," Demyx insisted, wagging a finger at us.

To my horror, my friends brought out their weapons, and Demyx turned around quickly, muttering to himself.

"Who is this kook?" Sora asked.

"My friend, you idiot!" I snapped.

"Please, this guy?"

Well, why wouldn't he be? He helped me before, and he helped them, too!

"Remember, the Organization's made up of Nobodies," Goofy said.

"Right--no hearts!" Sora exclaimed. Demyx whirled around again.

"Oh, we do too have hearts!" Demyx whined. I wish. That would've made my life so much easier. "Don't be mad..."

"You can't trick us!" Donald quacked.

Suddenly Demyx's cutesy face went stony serious.

"Silence, traitor," he growled, pointing at Sora.

"Oh come on," I whined, slumping. "You guys aren't seriously going to fight, are you?!"

"Nexus, c'mon!" Sora said to me. "He's part of the Organization! They're our enemies, remember?"

"Yeah, but--"

"Hey! She's my friend, too, kid!" Demyx shouted angrily, summoning his weapon, basically a sitar-like battering ram.

"She was my friend first!"

"No I wasn't!" I shouted, stamping my foot. "This is ridiculous! You can't expect me to choose between you two!"

"You have to!"

I glared at the two of them, especially Sora.

"Stupid!" I snarled at him. "He helped us before! Why did you have to pick this fight?!"

"He's one of them, remember?"

"Hey, I don't wanna do this, but I will to exist!" Demyx retorted, his normally calm eyes fiesty.

"See? He's trying to kill me!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, putting my hands over my ears as they argued.

Beyond ridiculous it was. Beyond it.

I had to think really hard about this. Here were my choices:

1. I could help Demyx. After all, he was my friend first, and he had never done anything wrong until this very moment. In fact, he helped me get to Axel again. He was nothing but nice, and Sora was being a huge jerk...

...or 2. I could help Sora. Despite Demyx being my friend, he was still loyal to the Organization, which I was still trying to destroy. And also, protecting Sora wasn't my idea--it was Axel's.

That settled it. Axel's idea. It had to come first. I had to help Sora.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Demyx!" I cried, tears in my eyes. He looked surprised, but like he understood it.

"Yeah, me too," he said sadly. "I guess I understand. You really like him, don't you?"

At first I thought he was talking about Sora, and I was about to laugh in his face, but then I got that he was talking about Axel, and I nodded, a single tear escaping. I wiped it away quickly.

"I've got to help Sora," I declared, "but I won't fight you. Sora, I'll heal you if you need it. Just say the word."

"Right," he muttered, and he dove right into Demyx.

*~*~*

Sora had a lot of anger pulsing inside of him at that point. He decided it would be best if he let it all out on Demyx, who was actually a pretty formidable opponent.

He was angry that the King refused to help him out when it came to Riku. He was even angrier that Kairi was kidnapped.

But what really made him steamed was that Nexus was hiding things. A lot of things.

She grew up in this town, and she didn't seem surprised about the whole Ansem's Heartless thing. In fact, she knew more than the King did. She probably even knew of the real Ansem's whereabouts.

But instead of just telling them and making life easier, she had to hide it. Everything.

Sora beat into Demyx, feeling a little tired. Suddenly his body glowed a soft green, and his strength was renewed.

Nexus, he thought, growling. She acts so nice, but it's not because of us. She's protecting us because she has to, not because she wants to.

Sora knew there was so much more to the story that Nexus was refusing to share with them. She may not know anything about Kairi--nobody seemed to--but she knew about Riku, and she knew about Ansem the Wise. She knew about the computer lab and this entire town. She knew about the Organization.

The only thing stopping Sora from confronting her about all of this was the nice little handgun resting on her right thigh. He was truly afraid of her. He knew she could kill him if he prompted her enough. There was a little switch in her head that he couldn't control, and she barely could, and he didn't want to risk his life like that anyway.

Sora stared into the cool eyes of his foe, and he frowned deeply, his nose scrunching up in anger. This guy, Demyx, was supposed to be Nexus' friend. All because of that time in the Coliseum. He took her to see her other friend. Axel.

I wonder about that guy, Sora thought to himself as he began to deal out his final blows to Demyx. About Axel and Nexus.

He thought maybe there was some sort of relationship there under the surface. But it was unlikely, seeing as how Axel was a Nobody without a heart to feel.

Maybe that's why she's unhappy, Sora wondered. I guess I can relate.

His anger subsiding and his pride welling up, Sora smacked Demyx a nice one in the head, and the Nobody fell to the ground, his sitar morphing into a puddle of water.

"Ugh," Demyx groaned, completely weakened. "Nexus."

"I'm sorry, okay?" she whimpered, tears choking her voice.

"It's okay, I told you I understand." He smiled kindly at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. Sora noticed they had the same color of eyes. "Nexus, you need to get out of here while you still can."

"What? Why?"

"Xemnas is here." Her face paled. "If he finds out you're here, he'll destroy you, and then the others."

"I...understand."

Demyx smiled one last time before he began to fade away.

"Aw, Nexus, I'll miss you," he laughed. "I always liked you a lot, y'know? Maybe if I had a heart, things would've been different."

Blushing, Nexus beamed at him.

"I'll miss you, too," she murmured. "Goodbye, Demyx."

That goofy smile still planted on his face, Demyx faded away completely. Sora's rage came back for a moment.

"Anyone from the Organization who'd like to be next?" he snarled, shouting into the quiet air.

"Hey, Sora! Don't antagonize them!" Donald shouted.

"Yeah, we gotta go help our friends out first," Goofy agreed.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Then let's go!" Donald said. "Nexus, you should probably get going!"

"Yeah," she mouthed, unable to speak.

"Aha! There you are!"

They all froze in fear as the King marched down the steps, frowning deeply. When he reached them, they hung their heads like guilty criminals. His Majesty sighed.

"You sure have lotsa friends to help," he said, smiling. "So, I guess we better all pull together and finish this battle for good!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" they all cried, standing up straight.

"I'll see you back at the ship, Sora," Nexus said, her voice cracking. Sora nodded once curtly, still a little angry.

Nexus' PoV

Suddenly a loud crash sounded out somewhere above us, and we all looked around to see what the commotion was. I was hoping it wasn't Xemnas, since I didn't really feel like dying that day.

"Look out!" Goofy shouted, nearly tackling the King. Then I saw the second most horrifying thing I've ever lived to see.

A huge rock, almost the size of Donald's whole body, nailed Goofy square in the head. He hit the ground hard and slid across the tile, slamming into one side of the cliff.

"Goofy!" I shrieked, and we all ran to his side.

"No..." the King gasped.

"Hey! You're the King's Captain!" Donald quacked in Goofy's ear, shaking his shoulders. "You gotta get up!"

"C'mon, wake up!" Sora cried.

"Goofy..." I pleaded, kneeling next to him.

"I'm sorry about the ice cream!" (WTF?)

"Goofy...?" the King murmured, but the King's Captain didn't move. My heart froze in horror. Oh gosh.

"Ohhhh...Goofy..." Donald wailed, resting his head on Goofy's chest.

"This is not happening..." Sora gasped, looking pale. "It can't be happening... It can't..."

I stood up, tears welling up. I couldn't help him. I had to leave and I couldn't help him.

I ran.

I've done this thousands of times before probably, but I've never run like that before. Every ounce of my body felt like gelatin, hard to get moving, like I was underwater. My legs were wobbly and unsteady, but somehow I managed to press on, to keep running.

Goofy was gone now, too...how could that have happened?!

I also had helped murder one of my only friends.

This is all your fault, Xehanort! my mind shouted. If you had just done what you were told...

I kept repeating Demyx's last words in my mind over and over.

If he had had a heart...things would've been different.

Well, yes, they would've, because none of this would be happening, I might be free, and life would be merry.

But despite the personal hell and public humiliation, I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

After all, I had Axel and Roxas.

And Sora. Even though he probably hated me.

Dammit, I thought as I rushed into the ship. He must hate me right now. I don't want things to be this way! I started bawling. Doesn't anybody like me?

Well, I guess Demyx did.

Oh!

Wait, this was good! If Demyx could remember love, Axel could, too! Then that would mean there was still hope!

I continued to cry, but my happiness started to overwhelm my sadness, and I plopped onto the window seat, shaking.

Still hope.

*~*~*

"Are you okay?" the King asked Sora as he came rushing into the Crystal Fissure. He had just fought through tons of Heartless with his friends, but it wasn't the same. There was no Goofy alongside him to look out for him anymore. He just couldn't grasp that.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but..." Sora looked down at his shoes.

"Ohh, Goofy..." Donald said sadly. Everyone was quiet.

"Hey, fellas!"

Sora thought maybe he was imagining things. He thought his memory was messing with him. But when he saw the looks on the King's and Donald's faces, he knew the voice was real. And when he whirled around, there was Goofy , jumping up and down and waving his arms.

"Goofy!" the three cried, shocked--but in the best way possible.

"Ya know, that really hurt!" Goofy said when he reached them, rubbing his head.

"Aw, Goofy!" King Mickey said, hugging his dear friend.

"Gawrsh, Yer Majesty, I get bumped on the head all the time," Goofy said. Sora chuckled a little, beyond relieved.

Donald, however, was beyond angry, and he stomped over to Goofy. With nice momentum, he swung his staff into Goofy's shin. Goofy howled with pain, jumping around.

"That hurt, too," he whimpered.

"Don't you ever do that again!" the duck cried, his anger quickly subsiding.

Wait until Nexus finds out! Sora thought, then his face darkened. Nexus...

.........

"What's this place?" Goofy asked.

Sora opened his eyes, but everything was still dark as night. He looked around, and the only objects he could clearly see were his friends.

"It must be the Realm of Darkness!" he exclaimed, not seeing a sign of life anywhere. After all the Nobodies he had just met, this had to be where they were. "Kairi! Riku!" he shouted desperately, but no one responded.

"Who's there!?" Donald snapped.

Sora turned, and at first it seemed like Donald had really lost his marbles for good. But upon closer examination, Sora realized there was indeed someone standing there; he was near invisible because of his black, Organization XIII-style cloak.

Donald ran over to the man, but he left in a flash of darkness, leaving behind a small, white box.

"What is it?" Donald wondered, holding it up.

"Are ya sure you wanna open..." Goofy started, but Donald opened the box. "...that?"

Inside the box was a photo and an ice cream bar.

"Gawrsh, it's the gang from Twilight Town," Goofy said as Donald took the ice cream. "There's Hayner, Pence, Olette...and, uh, um..."

"Roxas," Sora finished for him, the name foreign to him, but familiar at the same time.

"You know him?" Donald asked, waving the ice cream around.

"No... The name just popped into my head..." Sora pointed to the blonde in the photo with his pinky finger. "This is Roxas."

"Are you sure you wanna eat..." Donald tasted the ice cream without hesitation. "...that?"

Donald quickly pulled the treat out, looking astounded.

"Salty..." he murmured. "No...sweet!"

Suddenly the ice cream bar glowed and began to float into the air.

"Not yet!" Sora cried after he finished opening the gateway. "I gotta look for Kairi!"

But he could feel his body leaving this place.

The next time he opened his eyes, he saw the inside of his own ship, and Nexus, who had been waiting the whole time; her eyes were red from crying, but her face lit up when she saw them as if nothing was wrong.

What an understatement.